The present invention relates to an illuminated novelty device. More particularly, the present invention relates to a chemiluminescent illuminated novelty device.
There are several illuminated novelty devices commercially available, some of which are in the form of, or resemble beverage accessory devices, such as ice cubes. Two principal types of devices are known, chemically activated devices and electrically activated devices. The chemically activated devices are exemplified by that described in Cheng, U.S. Pat. No. 5,860,724, which includes a chemiluminescent light emitter within a housing shaped like an ice cube. The housing has several chambers each filled with chemicals that when mixed together emit light.
The device in Cheng is a relatively complex construction, with multiple (three) chambers and a thin film or membrane that is needed to maintain the chemicals segregated from one another. In addition, the construction makes mixing the chemicals, following fracture of the film, difficult in that the flow space between the chambers is limited by the area of the film.
In the electrically activated devices, light emitting diodes (LEDs) are typically used to produce light. The LED require a power source, i.e., batteries, that have their inherent drawbacks, such as possibly limited shelf life. One such LED-type construction is illustrated in Vanderschuit, U.S. Pat. No. 6,416,198 and its progeny.
Accordingly, there is a need for a chemically activated or chemiluminescent illuminated novelty device. Desirably, such a device is a beverage accessory device, resembling or shaped much like an ice cube. More desirably still, such a device is readily easy to manufacture with a minimal number of chambers require to maintain the chemicals segregated from one another.